Boys like Me
by verba non facta
Summary: Seto meets Mary on a rainy night, and in spite of their social differences, he wants to become close to her. AU
1. Red Eyes

**Like _Night Routines_ it's kind of hard to believe this is a year old.**

* * *

Seto liked the rhythmic drumming of rain on the metal roof and he liked the girl sitting beside him although she had only said two words to him. She was hiding her face behind a wet mop of white-blonde hair. Seto hadn't shifted back into drive yet; he was just staring, waiting for her to say something other than "thank you".

"I'm Seto."

"I know." She ran some fingers through her wet hair. "We go to the same school."

"What are you this year?"

"Sophomore."

"I could have sworn you were younger."

"I skipped a grade." She tried to stop the conversation there, but Seto pressed on.

"You look cold, do you want my jacket?" Before she could protest, he was wrapping it around her shoulders. "Tell me about yourself. Do you like school?" Seto asked.

"I like school well enough. I guess I'm good at it too." The girl played with the hem of her skirt. "Everybody thinks I'm weird."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Seto could tell she was lying. "They just think I'm different."

"Well, sure you're different, but everybody is different." He glanced over, and she was still staring out the window. "Besides, it's only the first week of school. I'm sure you'll find somebody."

"Turn here." She pointed a thin white finger toward a dark path on the left. The trees formed a sort of tunnel over the dirt road, blocking the car from rain. Eventually, they pulled to a halt in a clearing. "Thank you for the ride," she said beginning to get out of the car, but Seto stopped her.

"It's still raining. Wait a few minutes."

"Okay." Rain pounded the roof, and Seto watched it trickle down the windshield. The girl kept her face turned toward the passenger side window. He all of a sudden realized that he hadn't seen her face.

"You look nervous," Seto said.

"I am, a little bit."

"Why? I wouldn't hurt a fly."

"It's not that. Most of the girls I sit with at lunch think you and your brother are cute, and they'll never believe me if I tell them you drove me home." Both of them laughed.

Slowly, the rain stopped and Seto helped the girl out of the car so he could walk her to the door.

"Don't wake your parents up."

"You don't have to worry about that." She kept her eyes locked on the ground.

"Why not?"

"I live alone." She turned her head upward to look at him for the first time.

"Y-your eyes!" Seto cried.

"Oh no!" She buried her face in her hands. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

"No! They're fine. I like them." Seto lowered his voice and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Do you really mean that?" She uncovered her eyes to look up at him.

"Of course I do."

"Thank you." She began to enter her home, but Seto stopped her before she crossed the threshold.

"What was your name again?" Seto felt his voice shake a little.

"Mary." She disappeared behind a closed door, and Seto had forgotten to ask for his jacket.

* * *

That night he thought almost exclusively about her eyes. He wondered if she was like them, and if it was safe to tell her about his family. Would she only be afraid? Of course, Seto had heard about albino people with red eyes like hers. Maybe she was one of them.

 _But I wasn't lying, was I?_ He thought. _Those eyes really do suit her._

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't wear your jacket," Kano sighed, leaning up against the locker next to Seto's.

"I told you, it's still hot. If I change my mind I'll run out to the car and put it on, deal?"

"Sure. Where's Kido?"

"In the back, probably," Seto said. Recently, she had taken up smoking. He wasn't sure what to think of it, but if it made her happy, then he was okay with it.

"I didn't think about that." Kano picked at a fingernail. "Do you think my eye looks any better?"

"A little bit. You really shouldn't get into fights like that."

"So? I like to fight. A little _mano a mano_ is fine, Seto."

"At least have the decency to, you know," Seto waved a hand around his eye "get rid of it."

"I think it makes me look tough. A leather jacket and a black eye can do wonders for you."

"Sure it does." Seto shut his locker. "I'm going to catch up with Kido." He turned around and headed out for the parking lot. Kido wasn't by the dumpster like he thought, so he sat on top of the car with his feet on the trunk and waited for her to show up.

She liked hiding from them, not like when they were kids, she hid to cry back then, now it was just to spite her brothers. Seto watched as a throng of people stood at the front doors to the school, showing off their new skirts or talking about what they did last night as they laughed. Seto liked hearing their laughter from far away.

"I thought you smoked." The voice startled him.

"Oh, hey Mary. Why did you think I smoke?" She was looking up at him with squinted eyes, holding his jacket over one arm.

"Your jacket smells like cigarettes."

"Everything smells like cigarettes." She let out a small smile. "Come sit with me for a few minutes." Mary climbed on top of the green car, and laid the jacket across her lap. "I meant what I said last night."

"You already told me that." She kept facing forward, so Seto could only make out her profile.

"I didn't know if you believed me."

"Why would you lie to somebody you just met?" She turned to face him. "I have to go. Need to ask one of my teachers about something." Mary climbed down the back of the car, leaving Seto's jacket in her place. He pulled it on, pleased to find it smelled like perfume.

* * *

"So you got your jacket out of the car," Kano said at lunch "I'm touched."

"I felt a little bare without it." Seto scanned the cafeteria.

"We could skip and go get burgers," Kido suggested.

"You guys can go ahead, but I think I'm going to stay here. I have some studying to do."

"What? You're the one with the car," Kano said. He folded his arms over his chest. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm just not in the mood." Seto waved his hand dismissively. He craned his neck searching for Mary. She was in the back of the cafeteria, sitting with a group of sophomores he sort of recognized. "You two go get something to eat. I'll be there in a minute." Kido and Kano turned around and headed for the line. Seto dug in his notebook for a piece of paper, and he tore one from the spirals, scrawling something on the lines. He pulled a piece of tape from its roll and attached it to the top of the paper, leaving a small amount at the top ready to stick to something.

Seto casually walked by Mary's table; glad to see that her hair was parted in half, hanging over either shoulder. He stuck the paper to her shirt, and when he reached the back wall, he saw that she had pulled it off her back and had read it. She licked her lips and looked around, then folded it carefully and stuffed it in her bag.

* * *

"You could have _told_ me you wanted to meet me here," Mary said when she saw him in the parking lot after school.

"No I couldn't because those girls like me and Kano. They would hate you."

"Okay, you have me there but you could have at least signed it with your name."

"Sorry." Seto ran a hand through his hair.

"I should really be studying right now. What did you need?"

"Ah, studying. Mary, if you spend all of your time studying, when will you have time for fun?" Seto leaned against the car door. "Besides, it's the first week of school."

"I have a test on Friday in my Latin class."

"Ouch. He's really piling tests on now, isn't he? Either way, I'm in my third year, so I can help out. Get in the car."

"Mmm." Mary walked around to the passenger side door "But only because you've been in Latin before. You have to quiz me."

* * *

After they had sat down at the diner's bar and ordered their milkshakes, Seto took out a piece of paper and a pen.

"So you're in your first year of Latin?" Seto asked.

"Yeah," Mary replied.

"What declensions and cases has he taught you?"

"First and second declension, nominative, accusative, and dative. This is mostly about verbs, though."

"Oh. Well verb endings are easy." Seto drew a chart on the paper. "We're going to use the verb for punch because it was the first one I came up with." Above the two columns, he wrote 'singular' and 'plural' and beside the three rows he wrote '1st', '2nd' and '3rd'. "So the columns stand for number, and the rows stand for person. First person is I, second person is you, and third person is he, she, it in the singular. In plural it's we, you, and they. Does that make sense right now?"

"Yes."

"Dictionary entries are broken up into four principal parts, but we only care about the first part _pulso, pulsare_. That's the first person present tense indicative and the infinitive 'to punch.' Sorry if this doesn't make much sense."

"No, it's okay. Keep going," she said.

"Okay, so when you want to say 'I punch' you use the verb _pulso_." He wrote _pulso_ in the first box. "Note how that is the first principal part. For the others, you use the infinitive. All you do is take the letters R-E off the end and add the next endings, in our case –s and –t, and –mus and –tis and –nt. When you say 'you punch' in the singular, you use _pulsas_." _Pulsas_ went in the second box. "In the third person singular, he, she, it, punches, you say _pulsat_. Do you get it?"

"A little. Latin is hard, but you seem to know it."

"It's only because I've been in it longer. I needed an extra elective and I was put in Latin. It would be kind of dumb to leave now."

"What do you do when it's plural again?"

"You're eager to learn. 'We punch' is _pulsamus_." He wrote that in its box. "Plural 'you punch' is _pulsatis_." That went in its box. "Last but not least, 'they punch' is _pulsant_." Seto wrote that in its box.

"What about other words? Like, there's more than one conjugation, Magister said. This is first conjugation, right? What about second and third and all those?"

"All of the endings are the same for present tense indicative no matter what conjugation you're in."

"That clears things up. Here I was thinking all of the words had different endings," Mary laughed. "It made sense at the time."

The waitress brought them their shakes. "Aren't you two cute," she said. Mary's cheeks turned as pink as her strawberry milkshake. "You kids enjoy, okay?"

Mary sipped leisurely as she drew flowers around the chart Seto made. Her doodles were small but intricate, looping carefully around the written notes. She shaded them with a light hand, each petal receiving the same amount of care.

"Do you garden?"

"Yes. It used to be my mother's, but I took over. It can be a little tough, but it's really rewarding."

"I bet. Your drawings are really nice."

"Thank you."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to your parents?"

"I don't really remember my dad, because he died when I was two, and my mother also died when I was young. It was just an accident."

"Sorry about your parents."

"It was a long time ago. There's nothing to be sorry about." She kept doodling.

Seto tried to keep the conversation going. "Is your milkshake good?"

"You're going to an awful lot of trouble to make small talk."

"Sorry. I can stop, if you'd like."

"No, I just didn't think somebody like you would be that polite."

"Somebody like me?" Seto held a hand over his heart in mock surprise.

"A leather jacket wearing, fancy car driving boy. I didn't think boys like you take Latin or have any interest in flowers," Mary said matter-of-factly.

"Well, Kano doesn't. I do."

"Your brother? What's he like?" Mary leaned on the table with her arms folded in front of her.

"He fights a lot, and he acts like What Happened to Nee-Chan doesn't bother him, but I know it does." Seto slumped over a little, putting his chin in his hands "It bothers Kido, and I guess it bothers me, because I'm here and I'm not with them. Not like Kano's ever home, and not like Kido does anything besides taunt boys, including me and Kano.

"You seem upset."

"Sorry." Seto sat up straight again.

"If something bothers you, you should really just let it out."

"No, no. I don't want to burden you with it. Besides, it's almost seven. You probably have more homework." Seto left enough money to cover their shakes on the bar counter.

* * *

The sun was just going down when Seto pulled into the grassy patch in front of Mary's house. He could see it much better and liked the way green vines crawled up one side and how the chimney peeked out from the roof.

"Thank you for the milkshakes, Seto." Mary pulled her bag over one shoulder.

"It was no problem. It's better to go out sometimes."

"Goodnight."

"You too." He waited for her to get inside before he backed out.

* * *

When Seto got back, only Kano was home, laying down on his bed studying.

"You're home early," Kano looked up from his textbook. "Did you run out of gas or something?"

"No, I just did everything I needed to do. Is Kido out?"

"She left after dinner. We saved you something if you haven't eaten." Kano pointed his finger out the bedroom door past Seto.

"I'm not hungry." Seto sat on the edge of Kano's bed.

"What's eating at you?" Kano said as he slammed the book shut.

"Nothing. I've been thinking a lot the past few days."

"That's new," Kano laughed.

"Shut up." Seto punched his brother's arm lightly. "Are you going out?"

"Maybe if Kido comes back. I didn't make plans." Kano scribbled his name on the top of his paper.

"Stay in tonight. I'm going to go work on my homework."

Seto rounded the corner into his room and shut the door behind him. He flopped on the bed with a _squeak_. He had gotten the largest bed, but unfortunately he got one that was squeaky and uncomfortable. _I can't tell what she does._ Seto thought. _Maybe it's like mine and you can't tell she's using it. I hope her power isn't like mine._ He put a hand over his eyes. _I hope she didn't have to suffer like me. I would hate to see her hurt like that. You know, I really do care about her. I really do._

"I'm back!" Kido closed the door behind her loudly. "Is Seto home yet?"

"I'm in my room!" Seto called.

Kido pushed the door open. "We saved you something to eat." She leaned against the doorframe.

"I already ate," a half truth.

"By yourself?" Kido kept blocking the exit.

"Yeah," he lied. Seto usually hated lying. "It was something quick, so it doesn't really count." He sat up. "Don't worry."

"Mmm. I'm tired."

"Okay, goodnight, Kido."

"Yeah." She turned around, disappearing into her own bedroom.


	2. This May or May Not Qualify as a Date

**The first two and a half chapters are basically a script.**

* * *

At school the next day he saw Mary everywhere. He saw her brush through bodies in the hallway and he watched as she worked on her homework at lunch. It was strange for Seto since he hadn't noticed her before he gave her a ride in his car, but it was a nice change. He watched other people avert their eyes while he tried so desperately to meet hers.

"Something's wrong with Seto," Kano said.

"What do you mean?" Kido's eyes grew wide.

"Ah, he's hardly spoken all day and his eyes are always filmed over."

"Do you think he needs to see a doctor?"

"Maybe." Kano shrugged.

"I'm fine." Seto put the brake on gently. "I can't believe you two are ganging up on me like this." He shifted the car into park and shut it off.

Kano opened the passenger side door. "Something's wrong."

"I told you that I'm fine."

"I can call Dr. Tachibana tonight and he can see you tomorrow." Kido dug a foot into the gravel.

"God, Kido, I'm okay."

* * *

That night, he drove again. He drove through downtown and through uptown, through suburbs full of war veterans and their families. He thought about going home, really home, to see his father, but decided against it. The trio had visited Kenjirou about once a month since they left, usually for an awkward lunch where Kido kept refusing to take his money. Kano usually didn't say anything, money-related or otherwise. In the end he gave an envelope filled with bills to Seto before he left. Seto used it to cover the rent so they could spend money on their habits.

When driving past the library, he saw Mary walking down the front steps and heading along the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Seto turned around in the middle of the street and pulled up beside her.

"Fancy seeing you here," he said after pushing the passenger side door open.

"Hi Seto, I was on my way home."

"I could give you a ride if you want." Mary's face burned bright red.

"I don't want to inconvenience you."

"It's no problem. Get in." Mary slid onto the seat.

"Thank you." She set her backpack on the floorboard between her feet. She didn't make eye contact.

"I get the feeling you don't like me that much."

"Are you teasing me?" She bit her lip. "Be honest. Are you only doing this because you want to make fun of me?"

"No, of course not! Why would you think that?" His voice quivered a little bit.

"You're so cool and you know everybody and you keep doing nice things and asking me questions and it's too good to be true. Nobody would ever be this nice to me." She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"I would never do that to anybody, honest." Seto took a deep breath "When I was a kid I was bullied a lot, and I never want anybody to go through that."

"They bullied _you_?" Mary's voice was incredulous.

"Mary, I was a friendless orphan, and that's the easiest target there is." Seto laughed.

"So like me, then."

"No, no, not like you. That's not what I meant. You have me."

"Serious?"

"Well, yeah I'm serious. One hundred percent." He pulled in through the tree tunnel and parked in the grass.

"Have you eaten yet?" Mary asked.

"No, but Kido usually saves me something. It's no big deal."

"Come in. I was going to eat dinner alone, but it's nice to have some company." She exited the car, and Seto followed. He helped her up the steps in the twilight. Mary fumbled with her house key. When the door finally unlocked, she pushed it open with ease and flicked the lights on. Seto put his hands in his jeans pockets and followed her. She threw her backpack on the brown sofa, and walked into the kitchen, turning lights on as she went.

Seto looked around. The yellow walls were mostly bare except for some bookshelves off to one side. The couch ran parallel to the bookshelves, and in front of the window sat a dark brown trunk. A pink rug lay askew on the floor. In the kitchen area, the cabinets were of a dark wood like the trunk. Mary opened the doors to the cream fridge next to the gas stove. Four chairs surrounded a table, three of which were covered in a thick layer of dust. A small hallway with a few doors stretched off to the side, but Seto didn't want to invade Mary's personal space. She set a kettle on the stovetop and turned to face him.

"Where does your family live?" Mary inquired.

"Oh, we live in an apartment. Our landlady pays for stuff like electricity and water so Kido, Kano, and I only have to worry about rent."

"What about your parents?"

"Well, the Tateyamas adopted us when we were young, and eventually our mother died in an accident. At first, things were okay, but after What Happened to Nee-Chan, we left."

"You keep saying it like that," Mary sighed.

"What?"

"When you say 'What Happened to Nee-Chan' you say it like a title. All capital letters."

"Should I not say it like that?"

"You shouldn't really even be saying it at all. It's okay to talk about what happened to her."

"I don't _like_ talking about it." Seto defended himself.

"Okay. That's okay too, I guess." To accentuate Mary's final word, the kettle began to squeal. She turned the stove off and grabbed to mismatched teacups from a cabinet. Mary carefully poured the hot water and stuck some tea leaves in strainers to brew. "Do you ever see your dad?"

"We visit him about once a month. We might go to see him for Thanksgiving, but I don't think Kano really wants to. He's pretty upset."

"Mmm. Do you know why?"

"Maybe he thinks Dad thinks we're useless. Dad loves us, he really does. Kano just doesn't think it's a good idea to be around him so much. I don't know what happened between them, and Kano won't tell me."

"Don't push him. He'll tell you when he's ready."

"You seem to know a lot about this kind of thing."

"I guess. I've only had myself to tell things to since my mother died." Mary pulled the refrigerator door open. "Are ham and cheese sandwiches okay?"

"That sounds great." Seto leaned against the counter as Mary made the sandwiches. "So you've been here all by yourself for the past few years?"

"Mhm." Mary nodded.

"You don't have any living relatives?" Seto questioned.

"Not that I know of, and it's not like any of them would want anything to do with me."

"Why is that?"

"Well, I never met either of my grandparents. Grandpa died before I was born, and something happened to Grandma. Mom wouldn't talk about it. She didn't have any brothers or sisters, and my dad might have, but I can't really remember him that well. We never met any of his family."

"But why wouldn't they like you?"

"I just don't think they would approve of my family."

"What do you mean? Your family is just fine," Seto said in disbelief.

"No, it's complicated. I don't know if I can explain." Mary shook her head.

"You don't have to tell me. I just wish you weren't alone all the time."

"I like being alone." Mary spread some mustard on her sandwich.

"You need company sometimes."

"Only a little." She shrugged.

"I still get the feeling you don't like me." Seto half-smiled.

"I don't even _know_ you."

"You're going to, Mary, because I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

That night, he didn't just think about her eyes; he thought about her whispery voice and her soft smile. Seto held a pillow to his chest, trying to make those intrusive thoughts go away, but they kept coming back.

 _She's so young;_ he thought _what would she want to do with you anyway?_

When the sun was just peeking through the slit in his curtains, Seto hadn't slept at all.

* * *

"Something is definitely wrong with you," Kano said. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"No." Seto shut his locker. "But I'm fine. Did you go out last night?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, just for a little while. Nobody was up for doing anything on a Thursday, so I just went home."

"Kido doesn't like you going out and fighting like you do."

"Well I don't like how she smokes all the time. Honestly, Seto, you two need to stop worrying about me so much."

"That's our job," Seto said "to worry about each other."

Kano flicked an eyelash off his finger. "I can worry about myself."

"That isn't how it works. Can we not talk about this here?" Seto was beginning to grow impatient.

"Fine. It looks like somebody else wants to talk to you anyway." Kano turned and went in the opposite direction.

"Oh, hi," Seto said "I don't think we've met."

"I'm Momo Kisaragi. Mary's friend."

"It's nice to meet you. I think she's mentioned you before."

"Yeah. She wanted to meet you at that diner on 21st street this afternoon."

"Tell her I'll be there." Seto smiled.

"Thanks, Seto. For a while there I thought she wouldn't make any more friends." Momo batted her eyelashes.

"Uh, okay, if you want to look at it like that. She's a great girl."

"She really is." Momo smiled and turned away without saying goodbye.

* * *

When Seto reached the diner, Mary was already sitting in a booth, drawing on a paper placemat. He thought about just watching her for a moment, but a group of people came in behind him.

"Hey," Seto slid into the seat across from her. "What's wrong? Did the Latin test not go well?"

"I think that went well. Thanks for helping me out the other day. I just wanted somebody to go out and do something with. Momo is really busy with the other girls." Mary ran a hand through her hair.

"We could catch a movie if you want. I think they're replaying _Cinderella_ at the drive in tonight at eight."

"You don't have to do that! I just wanted some company while I had a milkshake."

"No, I want to see it anyway. Kido and Kano think it's stupid, so we didn't watch it when it came out."

"I'll go with you then. Could I drop my stuff off at home before we go?"

"I don't mind." Seto smiled.

* * *

Mary crossed her legs on the seat as the movie started. The bright colors of the opening credits had a hold on her from the beginning, and Seto found himself looking at her more than he did the screen. She sat perfectly still, and only moved to lean in a little closer to Seto. He let her put her head on his shoulder. _Wait._ Seto's eyes grew wide all of a sudden. _Is this friendly? Or does she want to kiss me? Oh my god, what if she wants to kiss me?_ He started paying closer attention to the film. _If she wants to kiss me, then when am I allowed to?_ Cinderella slipped the shoe on. _It's almost over. Kano never tells me when he kisses the girl. Do you do it as the end credits roll?_ Now it was the wedding. _Shit. Do I do it now? Do I do it at all?_ Cinderella was kissing Prince Charming and Mary let out a small sigh as the movie ended. _Am I supposed to kiss her?I don't even know how to kiss. This isn't a date, is it? What if she thinks it's a date? Not like I'm complaining but—shit. She's sitting up now._

"What did you think?" Seto asked, trying to take his mind off the kissing. _What am I going to do?_

"I liked it! Cinderella is really pretty, don't you think?"

 _She doesn't want to kiss me, then. Sure dodged a bullet there. I'd probably mess it up._ "Yeah. They did a good job, didn't they?"

"Yeah! I've always loved fairy tales." Mary grinned.

"Me too. My siblings and I liked the knights. The others liked superheroes better, but it was nice to hear a fairy tale once in a while."

"My mother liked to tell me stories like _Rapunzel_ and _The Little Mermaid._ Sometimes they're sad, but I like happy endings like in _Cinderella._ "

"Yeah." Seto said. "I'd prefer a happy ending to a bad one any day."

* * *

She fell asleep on the way back to her house. It was just past ten, she had a right to be a little sleepy, considering it was a school night. When they pulled into the driveway, Seto shook her awake gently.

"Hmm?"

"We're here." Seto whispered.

"Okay." Mary's eyelids fluttered shut again.

"Mary." Seto tapped on her shoulder. "Mary, you have the key." She still didn't react. Seto fumbled for the key around her neck, pulling it off gently. He scooped the small girl up and carried her up the front steps. It took a few tries to unlock the door, but he managed to get it open. _I should really help her fix that._ Seto turned a few lights on. He made his way down the hallway. One door was slightly ajar. He flicked the switch, but it was the bathroom. Turning it off, he faced the door that must be her room. Seto pushed the door open carefully, still balancing Mary in his left arm, and started searching for a lamp. Moonlight didn't do much for illumination, but he eventually found a light at her bedside. Seto pulled the quilt back and eased Mary onto the mattress, covering her back up. Realizing it would be confusing for her on Saturday morning, Seto jotted a quick note for her.

 _Mary,  
I had fun. We should see another movie sometime. I hope you're not busy when I come over tomorrow after lunch. Sorry I invited myself without asking you, but I wanted to take you somewhere else. Also, I am sorry for not locking the door behind me. -Seto_

* * *

Seto didn't sleep. Kano wasn't home. Kido wasn't home. He had left Mary's door unlocked. There were things to worry about. So he didn't sleep.

Mostly he thought about the fact that the only person he knew was perfectly safe was himself. Kano was fighting. Kido was smoking somewhere, hiding away, or getting into general trouble. Somebody could enter Mary's home at any moment and hurt her.

Once he got over the shock of things, and after every scenario had been thought of, the sun was peeking up over the horizon. Nobody had come home yet. Seto rolled out of bed and double checked to make sure neither of them had snuck in without him noticing. When he saw both bedrooms were still void of their occupants, Seto made a pot of coffee.

He drank it slowly, one cup after the other, until all of it was gone. The door swung open.

"Where the hell were you?" Seto cried.

" _I_ was out finding Kano because he doesn't know how to get his sorry ass home." Kido pulled a tired looking Kano into the apartment. "He was out _drinking_ with some of his buddies, and now he's gone and gotten a hangover."

"Can you lower your voice?" Kano rubbed his temples.

"I will not lower my voice until you get some sense into your head! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, and it was great."

"Shut the hell up." Kido slumped into a chair. "And get some sleep."

Kano trudged to his room mumbling obscenities under his breath. "So he was doing something illegal," Seto said.

"Yeah," Kido scoffed. "Made himself look older to get a drink. And then more drinks until he was drunk as hell and got kicked out of the bar. I got home sometime around two, and your car was in the lot, so you were definitely here, and when I looked in his room, Kano was gone, so I went out to look for him. Didn't find him until almost five, and spent two hours dragging him here. He complains about me, but at least I know where to draw a line. At least I don't do something illegal every other night."

"He's upset."

"We're all upset, Seto. We're beyond upset. That doesn't give us a right to go out drinking. We're 16. Who does that SOB think he is?"

"Kido, he'll be okay."

"Yeah?" Her voice was angry. "What are we going to do when he ends up in jail? How are we going to bail him out?"

"He won't do that," Seto defended his brother.

"And what if he does?"

"We can work something out, okay? We can always work something out."

"I'm going to sleep. Make a plan, Seto. Make a plan like Ayano would have you do." Kido got up and headed to her room at the back of the apartment.

Seto was left in the kitchen to fume. Nobody had said her name since she died.

* * *

Around 9, he went to visit Mary. She was still asleep when he entered the house, so he quickly threw his note away and put a kettle on the stove. _She's safe. Thank god she's safe._ He sat at the kitchen table and waited for the kettle to boil. In about five minutes, a faint whistling began to fill the room. Seto stood to turn the kettle off as Mary wandered into the kitchen. With a smile, he turned to look her in the eyes, but her eyes were a brighter red than usual and her hair puffed up. _What is she doing? Oh my god, she's—_ before he could say anything he was frozen in place.

Mary figured out who he was shortly after freezing him. "What have I done?" she squeaked. "I've really messed up now!" She buried her face in her hands and ran out of the room. Seto desperately wanted to run after her, to tell her that it was okay, but at the moment, his limbs were still locked. For a few minutes, he stood there. When he was able to move again, Seto called out for her. Slowly, he walked into her bedroom. She was curled up on her bed in the far corner, a quilt covering her body. He could hear faint sobbing.

"Mary, it's okay." Seto sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I'm a monster!" she cried.

"No you aren't." He reached his hand out and placed it on what he hoped was her back. She flinched under his touch. "Don't say that."

"But I froze you!"

"Okay, that was a little scary, but I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

She poked her head out from under the blanket. "Of course I didn't! It was just an accident!"

"See? There's nothing to worry about." He scooted closer to her. "I'm not mad at you."

Mary threw the quilt off and sat next to him. Seto put an arm around her shoulders. "And you still don't think my eyes are weird?"

"Nope. They're just as nice as always." He pulled her close to his body.

"Why not? You've been saying that since I met you and everybody else seems to be afraid of them." Mary wiped tears from her cheeks.

Seto held his breath. _Should I do this? I hate it, but maybe I should let her know that she isn't so different._ He blinked, and his usual eyes changed to a bright red hue. He tried not to let himself hear anything, but he did. Their eyes met for just a second before Seto turned them back.

Mary pressed her face into his chest without saying anything. The kettle was still whistling.

* * *

"So you don't freeze people like me," Mary said over a milkshake.

"No. It's like I can hear what people are thinking."

"That's really neat!"

Seto sighed "Not really. People are mean, and I don't want them to be. When you spend your whole life being bullied, hearing just what people think is no fun at all."

"Oh. I don't think I'd like that much." Her smile fell.

"Yeah. How did you get yours?"

"What, you mean my powers? I was born like this. My mother could do it too, but she turned people to stone."

"Medusa!" Seto exclaimed.

"Her name was Shion."

"No, I remember reading Greek myths and there was a woman who could turn people to stone with a single look. She had snakes for hair though."

"Mama always said something about her mother having black snakes instead of hair like ours," Mary said.

"I've got to tell Kido and Kano." Seto stuffed a french fry in his mouth.

"What?" Mary cried. The whole restaurant turned to look at them.

"Keep your voice down."

"You can't tell them! This is supposed to be _our_ secret," she dropped her voice almost to a whisper.

"But they're like us."

"They look normal to me."

"And I don't?" Seto asked.

"Okay, you look normal too. Point made. But you still can't tell them that I'm a whatever it is."

"Medusa."

"Right. That." Mary sipped her milkshake.

"Can you at least come over for dinner sometime?" Seto asked. "I think they would want to meet you anyway."

"Is tonight good?"

"I don't see why not," Seto ate another fry.


	3. Florists and Flying

Seto called the apartment from a payphone outside the restaurant. He let it ring five times before somebody answered.

"Hello?"

"Kido, it's me," Seto said. "What's your plan for tonight?"

"Nobody seems to be doing anything interesting. I'll be staying home. Besides, I have an essay due on Monday. Kano is a different story."

"Would it be too much trouble to cook extra tonight?"

"Found yourself a girl, huh?" Kido teased.

"Kind of. Red eyes. You get the picture."

"Be here by five." Kido hung up without another word. Seto turned around to look for Mary, who was leaning up against the passenger side of his car, reading a newspaper.

"She said it was okay if you came over," he said.

"That was nice of her."

"Don't worry about it." Seto waved a hand.

"Do I have to bring a gift? Is it normal to bring gifts?" Mary was folding the newspaper up.

"You don't have to, but it would be nice if we could cut some flowers from your garden." Seto stood beside her. "What's blooming?"

"Right now, nothing." Mary sighed "Is there anything else I could do? It wouldn't be hard to bring a salad or something."

"Or we could go to the florist shop. I don't mind paying."

"Oh, quit being so nice. You invited me to dinner, remember?" Mary tapped Seto's arm. "I can pay for the flowers if you take me to the florist."

* * *

The shop wasn't far from the diner, but Seto drove anyway. Mary talked beside him, using her hands to weave complex stories about her gardening. She was saying something about a mole infestation when Seto parked. As they got out, she still talked about the moles. He wanted to pay attention to her but his mind was drifting away.

He thought about what Kido would think of Mary, since the two were so different. Kido couldn't talk for hours like Mary could, and she probably couldn't talk about flowers either. There were almost no similarities, yet Seto hoped they would get along.

Mary opened the door, and a bell jingled. Seto was hit with the intense smell of flowers. He scrunched his nose up a little, but soon began to grow used to it. Mary was looking at the flowers on the other side of the store.

"Chrysanthemums," she said "how pretty." Mary was twisting it between her fingers. "But I don't know if she'd like them very much. What color does she like?"

"Purple." Seto pointed where that color blooms were kept.

"Asters come in soon. Maybe they have some of those." Mary combed the display in hopes of finding individual asters. "They don't have any. I'll go check in the bouquets." She meandered to the section of full bouquets, looking for one that was mostly purple.

Seto thumbed through a gardening magazine while she made her decision. He pretended to care about the best place to put a ficus. There were pictures. He was fine. As far as Seto knew, nobody was watching the store. That put him off a little, like they weren't supposed to be there, but neither of them would do something bad, so it was okay.

The bells jingled, signaling somebody's entrance. Seto turned his head almost immediately, as did Mary.

"The sign said we were closed." It was Momo. What the hell was she doing there?

"Oh, sorry, we were just…" Seto was having trouble getting the words out, so Mary interrupted for him. "Hey, Momo! I didn't realize, sorry."

"I guess it's okay. I'm supposed to be watching the store for my mom. Why are you here, Mary?" She was smiling. That was a little strange, especially because she had seemed so happy to be rid of Mary the last time Seto talked to her.

"I'm having dinner with Seto's family tonight!" Mary beamed and nodded her head to Seto "I was just buying his sister some flowers."

"She's going to want some asters and black-eyed-susans." Momo didn't acknowledge him. "Asters aren't out yet, but I can get you some from the back." She waved a hand, ushering Mary to follow her. "What kind of vase were you going to put the flowers in?"

"Oh, we, uh, we don't have a vase at home." Seto felt his cheeks grow hot. "We usually use a big pitcher."

"So long stems then." Momo still didn't make eye contact, but Seto couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. She disappeared to a back room. Mary tapped her fingers on the counter. When Momo emerged, she held a few asters in her hands. She placed them on a piece of tissue paper and wrapped them up with some yellow black-eyed-susans. "Here you are, Mary." Momo grinned. "Have fun at dinner, you two." Seto waved as they walked out.

"She was nice."

"Yeah! Momo's the best. She's loud, but I don't mind so much. And she gave me flowers, which was really good."

"I talked to her the other day, but she wasn't like that at all."

"Probably because she was suspicious of you." Mary shrugged like it was nothing.

"What do you mean?" Seto asked.

"Momo is pretty protective of me and I don't know why. One time last school year I was talking to a boy after class and she asked me questions about him for days. It's just something she does."

"Oh. That makes more sense." The two climbed into the car. "She seems like a good friend. Are you ready to head that way?"

"Yeah." Mary gripped the flowers in her hands tightly. She bounced her leg up and down while Seto tried to talk.

"See that park right there? Nee-chan would take us there and one time Kano jumped down from the top of the monkey bars and twisted his ankle and we had to carry him home. Kido was so mad because she was having so much fun," Seto laughed. "And we would swing on the swings until we were sure time was going faster and we were at the top of the world, and nee-chan would jump off first and then Kano and Kido but I would hang on tight because I was too afraid to fly."

"I never rode a swing," Mary said.

"Oh, come on. You're kidding, right?"

"No!" Mary laughed "I'm serious."

"That has to change."

"We'll be late for dinner."

"It's only three. Come on, let me teach you how." He pulled the car over in a grassy area by the swing set. Seto clambered out, and helped Mary on the other side. "Just remember to kick." She sat down on a swing and Seto stood behind her. "Hold on tight, okay?" Mary wrapped a hand around each chain. He placed her hands over hers and pulled back. "I'm going to let you go, okay? Don't kick me." Seto ran forward, and when his arms couldn't reach any farther, he let go. Seto ran back, ready to push her again. "When you go forward, push your legs out! And when you go back, kick back!" Seto pushed her a few more times before she got the hang of it, and Mary was going full force. He climbed onto the swing next to hers and began to kick, picking up speed and momentum until he was going at the same speed as her, and he saw her laughing. "Do you like it, Mary?"

"Yes!" She leaned back.

"I'm going to jump," Seto yelled, a grin spreading across his face. "Watch me!" Once he reached the top of the arc, Seto let go of the chains. Time slowed down, and his legs turned to jelly. It was as if the wind wrapped itself around him, lifting him ever so gently up, up, and then down with strong force. He landed on his hands and knees laughing. His palms stung a little bit, but he just flopped on his back. Mary followed him, landing right next to him, laughing just as hard as he was. They stared at the sky for a while with laughter bubbling in their throats.

"It is like flying," She said finally. "I felt like a bird for a few seconds."


	4. Dinner

As they pulled into the parking lot of the building, neither said anything. Mary had a smile on her face as she climbed out. She followed closely behind Seto as he climbed the stairs.

"There might be a little mess," he said "it was Kano's turn to do chores this week." Seto swung the door open. Kido was fussing away in the kitchen, and Kano, as usual, was nowhere to be seen. The floor's usual coating of dirt around the front door had been swept away. "Hey, we're here!" Kido whipped around. Her surprise quickly turned into a smile.

"You're back! I wasn't expecting you two for another few minutes," Kido let out an awkward laugh. "Sit down." She used a wooden spoon to point them to the kitchen table. Seto pulled a chair out for Mary and sat down next to her.

"Kido, this is Mary," he said.

"Nice to meet you," said Mary, blush spreading across her face. "Seto has told me a lot about you." That was a little bit of a lie. Had he really said that much about Kido?

"Where's Kano?" Seto quickly tried to change the subject.

"I don't know if he'll be joining us tonight," Kido pursed her lips and turned back to her cooking. "So, Mary, what do you think about school?"

* * *

Kano didn't show up until dinner was in full swing. Mary was saying something about her gardening when he entered. He tried to sneak in, but Kido caught him in the den.

"Hi Kano, what have you been up to?" She ringed her voice with innocence.

"Nothing." Kano stood frozen like a deer in headlights. "Who's this?" He pointed at Mary.

"One of Seto's friends from school," Kido smiled while Mary bowed her head.

"Oh. I was just going to bed."

"Really? Are you sure you don't want something to eat?" Kido's voice was rising in pitch.

"No, I'm fine. Honest," he said. "Come on. I'm tired as hell."

"Kido, just let him go to bed. If he can't eat now, he can fend for himself later," Seto interjected, playing the moderator. "It's no big deal." A wave of relief swept across Kano's face. Kido softened a little bit as well.

"Fine. Go to bed. See what I care. It's only six anyway," Kido said, setting her hands on the table. "Goodnight." Kano disappeared behind the doorframe. "What an asshole." She drank her soda.

* * *

Mary said polite goodbyes to Kido, thanking her for dinner. She followed Seto out to the car, clinging to his sleeve in the half-darkness. They climbed in on opposite sides. She didn't say anything at first. At first, they rode in silence.

"Your sister doesn't seem to like your brother."

"It's stupid, I know."

"It's not stupid," She said quietly "because she shouldn't hate him."

"She doesn't hate him. It's just stupid because neither of them like what the other one does. It's stupid because they're just being annoying teenagers like they are. One day, they'll be over it."

"Are they sad?" Mary let the question hang in the air. "About what happened? Have you told them that it isn't their fault?"

"They know that it isn't their fault," Seto said.

"But what if they don't? What if they hate each other because they think about their own responsibility for something outside of their control? If she was sick, it isn't their fault."

"She wasn't sick, Mary," Seto coughed "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay."

* * *

When he got home, Kido was still picking up. He tried to sneak past her like Kano, but that didn't work for him either.

"What does she know about us?" Kido asked without turning around.

"That we're like her. Not much else."

"Then her red eyes do something too?"

"Yeah," Seto thought about his experience with them that morning "scared me half to death the first time."

"So what are they?"

"They froze me for a few minutes. Like the medusa."

Kido nodded "She's a nice girl."

"Yeah, she really is."

"Don't let anything happen to her, okay?" Kido finally turned around to look at him.

"I promise. G'night, Kido."

When he reached the hallway, he could hear Kano shifting around in his bedroom. He was muttering some stuff under his breath and Seto thought about what Mary said to him earlier. _They're making do. They don't think any of this is their fault. It was a few years ago, anyway. We're recovering._

Seto sat down on the end of his bed and bounced up and down a little. Mary's bed was soft, and he wondered if she was hiding underneath a mountain of sheets, like it was normal to think about. He didn't know her until a few days before. He hardly knew her at all. But she was soft and kind and Seto couldn't help but falling asleep with only her on his mind.


	5. Seto Finds Jesus

**Finally my new account is up to date with _Boys like Me_ , meaning that I can actually update this story!**

* * *

Sunday meant church for Kido. Seto and Kano had stopped going ages ago—Kano complained that it was too quiet, Seto complained that everybody there was a busybody, but neither of them had the heart to say that it had a little more to do with Nee-Chan.

Kido would wear a dress (a rarity) and makeup and she'd march straight out the door, have Seto drive her, and go worship just as she and Nee-Chan had done together all those years ago. Seto heard that everybody still asked after him, and Kido would show off the most recent pictures from her purse and all the little old ladies would tell her that Seto sure was growing up into a fine young man.

So that was one less thing to miss. But he got some kind of feeling that he should at least go this once, breaking the "Easter and Christmas only" rule he had set up. So he too dressed up nicely and sat in the pew beside his sister, praying that nobody would notice him, praying that he could just have this one moment to himself. And then his eyes were drawn to the back of the chapel, near the entrance.

It was Momo. Kido smiled and waved. Seto did his best to greet her as well. It looked like she and Kido were on good terms, since they ended up sitting next to each other. Seto slunk down in his seat as the organ began to play.

"Good morning," said the pastor.

"Good morning," echoed the congregation. Church went on. There was some standing up and sitting down and singing and some amen-ing and Seto was exhausted. He managed through some of the familiar prayers "Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…" but mostly mumbled and tried to match what his sister was doing.

Pretty soon, it was over, and Kido was mingling with some of the older ladies, showing Seto off. They smiled and held his hand saying things like "oh dear, you've gotten so tall! I remember when you were a tiny little thing" and Seto would smile and nod and try not to be too embarrassed. But there was that one comment "he must have girls lining up" that always made his cheeks feel hot. It was "surely you have a girlfriend" or "that sister of his better watch out because she's about to be replaced" and he felt like some kind of a show. Kido would laugh and comment on both him and Kano being regular heartbreakers but Momo only managed a smile and a quick glance in his direction.

"So," said one of the old ladies "how about it then? What's your girlfriend's name?"

It felt like there was a spotlight on him. "Oh, I, uh," Seto tugged at his collar "I don't really have one."

"Oh come now!" The old woman patted his hand "Surely there's some girl."

"No there isn't." He tried to clear his throat.

"Look at his face get all red, there must be."

It was Momo who answered for him. "He doesn't. He's hopelessly ignoring everybody."

Like that helped. Then it was "you can't do that" and "there are so many sweet girls for you to choose from" and Kido seemed to be basking in everybody's newfound interest in Seto, but Seto himself was so terribly uncomfortable.

"I'm sure I'll find somebody," he managed to say. All the women called him such a sweet boy and asked for some hugs before him and his lovely sister left and that they'd see her next week and oh there's a brunch coming up on Saturday you should come and he was so grateful when they escaped.

* * *

"So Mary's not your girlfriend then."

"We're not doing that again." Seto kept his eyes fixed on the road.

"You didn't answer me. I was just clarifying that you and Mary aren't going steady."

"No, we're not. Now back to what I was saying. It's Kano's turn to go to church next week and I don't care what he says."

"Aw, Seto, those ladies don't care about him," Kido said. "They care about you, the little prince. Kano's just that ratty kid who always gets in fights." She twirled a piece of hair around her finger. "It's always been that way. Did you hear them once say his name?"

"Kido, he needs to go."

"I'm not sure. He's not into religion. I thought you weren't either."

"It's not that I'm not into religion, I'm just not into church."

"That's the same thing."

"No it's not. Religion? Religion is good. It helps people remain tied to things that they've lost and it helps us to cope with the inevitable, and it's not as bad as Kano thinks. Church is bad. Church is like when everybody is staring at you, asking about how you are and if you've accepted this that or the other into your life. It's all about feeling guilty when you can't drop money into the collection plate. It's not worship, it's a show, and that's why I don't go."

"I'm not sure Kano thinks like you do," Kido scoffed.

"No, he doesn't. Kano doesn't think that _church_ is bad, he thinks that religion is bad. He used to love church, you know, when he was little. He would hold our hands as we walked to Sunday school and he was baptized and he loved it. He loved the little old ladies sneaking him soft mints. He loved the show. But ever since What Happened he just can't go back. He sees the inevitable as a terrible thing that took his sister and he can't stay tied to what he's lost through church so he beats on people to get back at us. He blames everybody for something that wasn't his fault. So put that in your pipe and smoke it."

"I didn't realize you were a psychoanalyst."

"You can see that much, Kido. I've just thought about it more than you," Seto said as he pulled into the parking space. "And you're right. Neither of us like going anymore, and I kind of wish it wasn't that way. But it's not a good place for us and I don't know if I can go that often. I'll try though, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm going to Mary's house," he breathed, like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

"Okay."

"I'm just going to change and get some stuff together. There's some stuff that needs fixing."

"There you go, you little prince. Fixing her stuff. And you say you're not going steady," Kido said. Seto couldn't help but laugh.


End file.
